Automobile-starter.



T. HULETT.

AUTOMOBILE STARTER. APPLICATION I'ILBD NOV. 27, 1912.

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Patented Aug. 11, 1914.

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AUTOMOBILE STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED 1:011:21, 1912.

Patented Aug. 11, 1914.

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THOMAS HULETT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMOBILE-STARTER Sp cification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 11, 1914:.

Application filed November 27, 1912. Serial No. 733,874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS HULETT, a subject of the King of England,residing at Chicago, in the county of- Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Automobile-Starters;

and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to certain improvements for starting the engineof automobiles by lever power.

It consists of a device, as hereinafter described, to start the enginefrom the seat of the automobile by merely pulling a lever, therebyremoving the necessity of getting out of the car and cranking-the engineby means of a handle as is done at the present time. This device issimple in construction and can be operated very easily by anyone, eitherman or woman, from the driverls seat.

The invention consists in the details of construction hereinafter morefully described and claimed, and as shown in the drawings wliereinFigure 1 is a side elevation of an automobile equipped with thisstarter, and Fig. 2 a front elevation thereof with the face plate of itscasing removed. Fig. 3 is an enlarged front elevation of thestarting'mechanism with the face plate of its casing removed, and Fig. 4is a cross section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a top view ofthe starting mechanism with the upper plate ofits casing removed so asto give practically a plan view of the mechanism, with which isassociated the clutch at the front end of the engine shaft. Figs. 6 and7 are elevations of the mechanism, much like thatshown in Fig. 3; andFig. 8 is a vertical section on the line of Fig. 6 with the partsstanding in the position there shown.

In the drawings the letter A designates an automobile. whose engine Shas a clutch member C of the ratchet type at its front. end which isadapted to be engaged by the clutch member 1 at the rear end of theordir starting mechanism. ga id member i mute-(f on the inner extremityof a short 1ft secti n which passes sl iiab ly l n a hearing 3 beneathand in the present n' rather wide dr ven gear -1- s n an v ,umm Mai lLfrom tn as manta. c(. y .lie

numeral 4 in the drawings, an expansive spring 5 being coiled around theshaft between the pinion and the hearing so as to throw the clutchmembers C and 1 normally out of. engagement. Surrounding this gear wheelis a casing 6 of any approved type, to contain the starting mechanismyet to be described, and this casing may have its front provided with anopening or entirely hinged so that access to its interior may be had.

Coming now more particularly to the details of the present inventionother than as above mentioned, the pinion 4- is engaged with a ratherlarge driving gear 7 journaled within the casing, and the hub 8 of thisgear carries a ratchet wheel 9' as shown. Said hub is mounted on a pin10 which projects forward within the casing, and on the pin is pivotedthe upright arm ll'of an L-shaped lever, whose lower arm 12 liesnormally' horizontal andnear the bottom of the casing as best seen inFig. and at this time rests upon a stop' 13. 'To assist the lever inassuming this position, in case the parts should become stuck, Ipreferably employ a saring 14 located as shown or elsewhere so that itsresult will be attained. The upper end of the upright arm 11 carries apawl 16 normal y engaging said ratchet wheel 9. It follows that when thelever is turned to throw said pawl to the left and downward around thepivot pin 10, the pawl will turn the ratchet and the ratchet will turnthe hub and drivin gear, and the latter being connected with t e drivenpinion 1 will cause the rotation of the shaft section 2: In order tothrow said clutch-members into engager ment so that the automobileengine may be cranked, 'I provide a rock shaft 20 mounted in hearings,or eyes 21 projecting fromthe rear wall of the casing, and having at oneend an upstanding arm 22 carrying. a late which isadapted to makecontact wit the front end of the'shaft'section 2. The other end of saidrock shaft 20 carries a forwardly projecting arm 2 which stands in rearof the lower arm 12 of the fever; and depending from the body of therock shaft .is a stop or lug which holds this element normally as seenin 1. Pivoted eyes 26 on the rear side of the lower arm of the mainlever is a lifter consisting of a-lip 27 and a weight 28 dependingrigidly from its pivot line. at right angles to the lip so when thisweight re'sts against the' rear side of said main lever 12 the lipprojects liorizo tally to the rear. Any suitable means may be employedfor swinging said main lever, but in the present instance I have shown arope or chain 30 led upward from its free outer end over a pulley 31within the casing 6, and thence over. another pulley 32 in or on theautomobile hood and alongside the same to a hand lever 33 which standswithin reach of the driver or of a passenger mounted on the seat of theautomobile. However, this illustration is merely typical, as any othermeans could be employed for raising the main lever from a position onthe seat and without leaving the automobile, without departing from theprinciple of my invention.

With the above construction of parts, the operation of this device is asfollows: When the hand lever 33 is drawn to the rear, the rope or chain30 is drawn upon and the free end of the main lever is raised from theposition shown in Figs. 3 and 4, through the position shown in Figs. 6and 8, to the position shown in Fig. 7. In the rise of this lever thelip 27 contacts with the forward end of the arm 2% of the rock shaft 20,raises it, and finally slips past it, and said shaft is turned in itshearings or eyes'21 so that its other upstanding arm 22 is borne inward,and the plate 23 at the extremity thereof presses upon the front end ofthe shaft section 2 and pushes the same inward as seen in Fig. 8 so thatthe clutch members C and 1 engage each other. As seen in Figs. 6 and 8,this engagement occurs when the main lever has turned but little aroundits pivot 10. The rock shaft 20 and its two arms now drop back so thatthe lower arm 24 again stands horizontal. Continued movement of the mainlever in the direction described throws its pawl 16 into engagement withthe ratchet wheel and ca'uses the rotation of the driving gear 7 in thedirection indicated by the arrows in Figs. 3 and 7, which of courserotates the gear pinion 4 in the opposite direction and there ore cranksthe automobile engine. As soon as the latter commences to run, the rapidrotation of its shaft S throws the clutch members out ofengagement-assist ed by the expansive force of the spring 5-- so thatthe shaft section 2 is moved forward to the position shown in Fig. 4. Ifthe operator has not yet released his tension on therope or chain 30,the lip 27 will now be above said arm 24, and therefore when he doesrelease said tension and permits the main lever to descend the 'lip willhave to turn on its pivots 26 as its weight 28 will permit and pass thefree end of the arm 24 in a manner which will be clear.

All parts of this device are by preference of metal, properly treated toprevent rust, and as compact and yet as strong as possible consistentwith the work they are to perform. While the casing is not absolutelynecessary, I prefer to employ it so as to inclose the mechanism andprotect the parts from dirt. I might add, that owing to the differencein size between the driving and driven gears, one impulse of the mainlever which turns the driving gear through a part of a revolutionimparts one or more complete revolutions to the driven pinion; and ifthe .first impulse does not crank the engine it is possible for theoperator to let u on the rope or chain 30, drop the main ever 12, andgive it another impulse. This is permitted by the pawl and ratchetconnection between the upright arm 11 of said lever and the hub oftheldriving gear, and the fact that the latter is a gear instead of arack bar as commonly employed in devices of this character. gine startsrunning, if the clutch elements should not instantly disengage eachother the only result will be that the pinion- 4 will cause the rotationof the gear 7 in the direction shown by the arrow and the teeth of theratchet wheel 9 will slip idly over the tip of the pawl 16.

' It willbe obvious that this improved starter can be applied to anytype of automobile at the time it is built, or can be attaehed to itlater, providing only that the ordinary starting crank is removed and aclutch member 1 at the inner extremity of theshaft section 2 is employedwhich is of such shape as to fit the clutch element C on the shaft S oftheengine motor.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In an engine starter, the combination with the en 'ne shaft having aclu h element, a sha t section in line therewith and having anotherclutch element, a bearing in which this section is mounted for rotationand longitudinal movement, a wide gear pinion fast on this shaftsection, and a spring for throwing said .elements normally out ofengagement; of a driving gear in constant mesh with said pinion, aratchet fast on its hub, a lever mounted on a pivot, a pawl carried bysaid lever and engaging said ratchet,

means for swinging the lever, and devices actuated by the movement ofthe lever in one direction for sliding said shaft section until theclutch elements engage.

2. In an engine starter, the combination with the engine shaft having aclutch element, a shaft section in line therewith and having anotherclutch element, a bearing in which this section is mounted for rotationand longitudinal movement, a wide gear pinion fast on this shaftsection, and a spring for throwing said elements normally out ofengagement; of a driving gear in constant mesh with said pinion, aratchet fast on its hub, a main lever mounted on a pivot eoncentric withthe pivot of said gear and ratchet, manually operable means for swingmgsaid main lever, means for sliding said Moreover, when the enshaftsection until said clutch elements engage, and devices carried by saidmain lever for actuating said sliding means.

3. In an engine starter, 'the combination with the en 'ne shaft having aclutch element, a shaft section in line therewith and having anotherclutch element, a bearing in which this section is mounted for rotationand longitudinal movement, a wide gear pinion fast on this shaftsection, and a sprin for throwing said elements normally out oengagement; of a driving gear in constant mesh with said pinion, aratchet fast on its hub, a main lever mounted on a pivot concentric withthe pivot of said gear and ratchet, a pawl carried by said lever andengaging said ratchet, manually operable means for swinging said mainlover, a rock shaft having an arm provided with a plate standing againstthe front end of said shaft section and a second arm projecting towardsaid main lever, and a lifter on the latter for raising the last-namedarm.

4. In an engine starter, the combination with the engine shaft having aclutch ele ment, a shaft section in line therewith and having anotherclutch element, a bearing in which this section is mounted for rotationand longitudinal movement, a wide gear pinion fast on this shaftsection, and a spring for throwing said elements normally out ofengagement; of a. driving gear in constant mesh with said pinion, aratchet fast on its hub, a main lever mounted on a pivot concentric withthe pivot of said gear and ratchet, a pawl carried by said lever andengaging said ratchet, manually operable means for swinging said mainlever, a rock shaft having an arm provided with a plate standing againstthe front end of said shaft section and a second arm projecting towardsaid main lever, and a lifter consistin of a lip standing beneath saidlast-namcd arm, pivots connecting the forward edge of said lip with therear of said main lever, and a weight dependin rigidly from the lip andholding it norma 1y horizontal, for the purpose set forth.

5. In an engine starter, the combination with the en ine shaft having aclutch element, a shaft section in line therewith and having anotherclutch element, a bearing in which this section is mounted for rotationand longitudinal movement, a wide gear pinion fast on this shaftsection, and a sprin for throwing said elements normally out oengagement; of a driving gear in constant mesh with said pinion, amanually operable lever mechanism for turning said gear at will, alifter pivotedto said lever and having a lip, means for holding the liphorizontal when the lever ascends and permittingit to turn when thelever descends, and a IOCK shaft having an arm at one extremity standingin front of said shaft section and another arm at the other extremitystanding in position to be raised by said lip when the main leverascends.

6. In an engine starter, the combination with the engine shaft having aclutch element, a shaft section in line therewith and having anotherclutch element, a bearing in which this section is mounted for rotationand longitudinal movement, a pinion fast on this shaft section, and aspring for throwing said elements normally out of engagement; of amanually operable lever, connections between it and said pinion forturning the latter, a lifter pivoted to the lever, means for holding thelifter horizontal when the lever ascends and permitting it to turn whenthe lever descends, a rock shaft having an arm at one extremity providedwith a plate standing in front of said shaft section and another arm atthe other extremity standing in position to be raised by said lifterwhen the lever ascends, and a lug on said rock shaft for holding thelast-named arm nor:- mally horizontal,

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing- Wit-- nesses.

THOMAS HULETT. \Vitnesses LIZIE TIIoMAs, DAISY E. FREAK;

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